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Translation of Korean News: http://news.donga.com/3/all/20120710/47648257/1
“바닥엔 털 뽑힌 개… 도축후 바로 솥에 삶아”

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Dogs on the ground with fur removed…boiled in a pot immediately after slaughter.

There were already 3 dogs with their fur removed on the ground. A white dog that, while waiting for his turn, witnessed the slaughter of other dogs is terrified that not only is he not barking, but he can’t even look me, the stranger reporter, in the eye. The electrocution device hanging on the wall, the water injection hose, and the round hair removal machine are frightening enough to make anyone shudder.

July 9, 2012. This is the scene of a work area at an illegal dog slaughterhouse located on a hillside of Goyang City, Ilsandonggu Seongseokdong Gyeonggi-do province. Filled with foul odors, this is where the owner got caught in a charge of pocketing unfair profit by increasing the weight of slaughtered dogs by filling up the blood vessels with water.

Over 10 dogs trapped in wire cages were screaming in the yard, and the five cast-iron cauldrons were steaming. This is where the slaughtered dogs are boiled. Five bags of dog food neatly piled up in a temporary building next to the slaughter area showed that this illegal dog slaughter had been going on for a while.

A truck entered the farm/slaughterhouse, and a man looks to be in his 50s got off the truck and sharply reacted by asking, “Who are you?”. 2 workers wearing long plastic aprons ran out of the slaughterhouse after hearing the noise. This was shortly after the charge was filed for the slaughterhouse owner, so the atmosphere was rough. When we asked why they injected water into the dog’s blood vessel, they claimed, “We washed the blood inside the blood vessel with water, and it’s unbelievable that we are being accused of inflating the weight.”

This farm is registered as a meat seller on paper but is actually a slaughterhouse for slaughtering dogs. They were all unauthorized buildings without a permit from the administrative agency. On July 6, 2 people, including the farm owner, Mr. Bae (50), were charged on suspicion of setting up an unlicensed slaughterhouse and selling slaughtered dogs after inflating their weight by injecting an average of 1.5L of water to each dog by connecting a specially designed high-pressure water hose into their blood vessel. They are accused of inflating the weight of dogs by approximately 1,800g per dog. The workers claimed that they slaughter about 3 or 4 dogs per day. However, the illegal slaughter continues because the Goyang-city administrative agencies have not taken measures to close down the slaughterhouse.

It is known that this farm was fined 3,000,000 Korean Won (approximately $2,600 USD) last year on a charge of discharging wastewater into the nearby river. Mr. Bae and his workers have illegally slaughtered more than 730 dogs from July last year to recently. According to the police, they distributed this dog meat to local restaurants in Goyang City and pocketed an unfair profit of 210,000,000 Korean Won (approximately $180K USD). They are also accused of unauthorized discharge of wastewater created in the process of dog slaughtering and water injected into the nearby river.

However, currently, there is no way to punish them for illegally slaughtering dogs. Illegally slaughtering cows, pigs, chickens, or ducks is subject to administrative penalties, but dogs are not defined as “livestock” under the livestock processing law. Therefore, dog slaughtering is not regulated.

Goyang-city official said, “We will soon demolish these illegal buildings and shut down the business. It’s difficult to sanction illegal slaughter using the current law. An administrative penalty is possible only on the unauthorized discharge of sewage.” Another official added, “With the upcoming busy dog meat season, it’s concerning that the dogs slaughtered at a place outside any legal restriction and sanitation surveillance are being distributed into the market.”

[Description of photo] July 9, 2012. At an illegal dog slaughterhouse located on a hillside of Goyang-city, Ilsandonggu Seongseokdong Gyeonggido-province, a dead dog is lying on the ground with his hair partially pulled out. In a cage right next, a live dog waiting to be slaughtered is looking at the dead dog.

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